Chapter 436: Next! Bring down Bear Stearns as well!

The Waldorf Hotel's door shut behind them, cutting off the suffocating gray decay in the suite.

Zhang Qianru followed Lu Qingshan, walking down a corridor laid with thick Persian carpet, her high heels making no sound.

Her heart was still pounding, her palms drenched in sweat.

Earlier in the suite, facing John Mc and the elite Wall Street lawyer team behind him, she felt as if she were standing on a cliff edge over a bottomless abyss.

But Lu Qingshan seemed to be strolling in his own backyard.

He spoke in the calmest tone, uttering the craziest words, cornering the arrogant Wall Street wolves and forcing them to sign their own "Contract of Selling Oneself."

This extreme sense of oppression and control made her dizzy, both fear and unparalleled reverence.

Back to the Saint Remo Apartment.

David Cohen, Li Junjie and Lu Qingjun were like ants on a hot pan, pacing back and forth in the living room.

When the door swung open, the three froze as if a pause button had been pressed, their three pairs of eyes, six in total, staring straight at them.

"Wh—what's… what's happening?" David Cohen's voice cracked, so nervous he could barely speak English.

Lu Qingshan said nothing, simply walked straight to the sofa, sat down, and poured himself a glass of water.

Zhang Qianru inhaled deeply, trying to calm her still‑turbulent emotions, and raised the Preliminary Letter of Intent she had just retrieved from John Mc, already signed.

"He agreed."

Her voice was soft, yet in the quiet apartment it sounded like a bomb detonating.

"Agreed? Just agreed?!" David Cohen shouted, lunging to Zhang Qianru, snatching the document, staring at John Mc's flamboyant signature; his whole body seemed drained of strength, his legs went limp and he fell straight backward.

"It's over… my life is complete… I've once again witnessed a miracle with my own eyes…" He lay on the carpet, his eyes vacant, staring at the ceiling, muttering nonstop.

Li Junjie and Lu Qingjun wore equally stunned expressions.

They had imagined countless possibilities, expecting John Mc to rage, flip the table, unleash all his power in retaliation.

They never thought he would simply… agree.

He agreed to the agreement that could be called a "Plunder Treaty."

"Brother, what… what exactly did you tell him?" Lu Qingjun leaned close to Lu Qingshan, his face full of disbelief.

"I only reminded him to choose between becoming the next Lehman Brothers and a broken‑arm survival." Lu Qingshan took a sip of water, his tone as casual as if mentioning a trivial matter.

"He's a smart man; he knows how to choose."

Li Junjie hurried over; though his face showed shock, it also bore a keen yearning to uncover the truth.

"Boss, I don't get it. Why would John Mc agree so readily? Even if we have the ability to short him, Morgan Stanley's scale far exceeds Lehman's, backed by the Federal Reserve and the US Government; they could simply drag it out with us. Why…"

"Because he can't afford to drag it out." Lu Qingshan cut him off.

He stood, walked to the massive floor‑to‑ceiling window, and gazed at the steel jungle outside.

"You all think I'm forcing him. In fact, I'm showing him a way out."

"Way out?" Li Junjie was even more confused.

"Morgan Stanley's ship is riddled with holes, could sink at any moment. The mess John Mc took over is a rotten mess. He wants the US Government and the Federal Reserve to step in and rescue him, but the prerequisite is that he first proves he is worth rescuing."

Lu Qingshan turned, looking at his team.

"The Asia‑Pacific business, for the current Morgan Stanley, is a massive wound rapidly rotting and oozing pus. Inside are unsellable toxic assets and countless lawsuits. Keeping it would only drag the whole ship down."

"And I helped him cut out that rotten flesh cleanly. It hurts, but it saves life."

"A 'clean' Morgan Stanley is the only way to secure bailout funds from the Federal Reserve. So he's not surrendering to me; he's pledging allegiance to the Federal Reserve and the US Government. He should thank me."

His words sent the apartment back into silence.

David Cohen scrambled up from the carpet, looking at Lu Qingshan with an expression as if gazing at a being from a higher dimension.

It turned out that while they were still basking in victory, the boss had already calculated the opponent's thoughts, even the opponent's opponent's thoughts, with crystal clarity.

This is not a financial war.

This is a Dimensionality Reduction Strike.

At that moment, a bold red Red News Flash popped up on Ye Ning's computer.

She glanced at it, and a hint of change appeared on her usually placid face.

"Boss, Bear Stearns is in trouble."

Everyone's gaze instantly fixed on the screen.

【Breaking: Facing a "severe liquidity crisis," the United States' fifth‑largest investment bank Bear Stearns has sought emergency short‑term financing from the Federal Reserve and Morgan!】

The news was like a splash of cold water dousing the freshly rising atmosphere of joy.

"So fast?" Li Junjie's brows knit tightly, "I thought they'd hold out at least a week."

"It's not fast; it's time," Lu Qingshan walked to the screen, stared at the glaring news, his face showing no surprise.

The dominoes fell, the second tile toppled.

"Boss, what do we do now?" David Cohen put away his playful grin, his expression turning serious, "If Bear Stearns collapses, the whole market will plunge into deeper panic. Should we advance the 'Titanic Plan'?"

"No." Lu Qingshan shook his head.

He extended a finger and lightly tapped the words "Bear Stearns" on the screen.

"Panic, for us, is not a crisis but an opportunity."

He turned, looked at his now fully focused team, and issued a new command.

"Ye Ning."

"Present."

"Notify Li Zhi'an in London and Wilson in Europe: the 'Titanic Plan' Second Phase, target Bear Stearns, officially launch!"

"All short positions, build them up at the fastest speed!"

"Yes!" Ye Ning's fingers left a blur on the keyboard.

"Zhang Qianru."

Mr. Lu, I'm here.

Contact our partner law firm immediately and, at the fastest speed, draft a legal document for me to acquire Bear Stearns' Asia‑Pacific business. The terms should be copied verbatim from the Morgan Stanley one, without changing a single word.

Zhang Qianru froze for a moment, then a fierce blaze erupted in her eyes.

"Understood!"

Do it again!

This time, we even skip the negotiation steps!

Li Junjie, David.

"Here! Boss!" The two shouted in unison, like two generals about to receive orders for a campaign.

Lu Qingshan watched them, a curve at the corner of his mouth that quickened their hearts.

"This time, we won't just Short Sell it."

He pointed at Bear Stearns' turbulent falling stock price on the screen.

"Before it hits zero, I will buy all its most valuable assets in Place."

"I want the Wall Street people to see clearly."

"What does it mean to dig your grave on one side, write your epitaph on the other, and finally inherit all your estate?"

As soon as the words fell, the red encrypted phone rang again, untimely as ever.

Ye Ning answered, and after listening for a few seconds, her expression turned unusually odd.

She covered the handset, looked at Lu Qingshan, and her voice carried a hint of bewilderment she herself could not grasp.

"Boss, it's neither the White House nor the Finance Ministry."

"It's... it's Huaxia, calling from the Capital City."

"The other side said the person's surname is Wang."

"It should be Minister Wang."